Was it peasants or serfs that were bound to the land in the middle ages?

Answer 1

Peasants is a general term to refer to the rural farming class. Some of these were free and some were serfs, more often known during the period as villeins. Villeins owed labor to the lord of the manor they lived on, typically up to two days per week. They could not move away from the manor without the permission of the lord, although this was sometimes arranged, often in return for an annual fee. Villeins would sometimes run way to cities, and it was tradition that if a villein lived for a year and a day in city he was thereafter a free person.

Villeins should not be confused with slaves, however. A villein could own their own house, often (but not always) had rights to work certain lands in the village fields, and had was entitled to their own movable property and money. A villein could not be sold to another lord or separated from their land, which assured them a living. A villein could bring a mater before the manner court, and was in a legal sense a person and not chattel. In addition to labor a serf would also owe rents and fees to the lord based on their land holdings, and a tithe to the church.

Some peasants were free holders instead of being serfs. They still owed the lord a rent based on the amount of land they held in the village fields, but either owned no labor or just a token amount. They were free to leave the manor if they wished, and a few were able to accumulate significant amounts of land, enough to need hired farmhands and in some cases even employ servants.